Wounded soldiers become homeless waiting for benefits

Wounded soldiers become homeless waiting for benefits
By David Edwards
(AP) Thousands of wounded soldiers discharged from the Army risk financial ruin as they wait six to nine months for their disability benefits. The Army has taken steps to ease the strain, but it’s taking awhile for those policies to take hold.

Nearly 20,000 disabled soldiers were discharged in the past two fiscal years, and lawmakers, veterans’ advocates and others say thousands could be facing financial ruin while they wait for their claims to be processed and their benefits to come through.

“The anecdotal evidence is depressing,” said Rep. John Hall, D-N.Y., who heads a subcommittee on veterans disability benefits. “These veterans are getting medical care, but their family is going through this huge readjustment at the same time they’re dealing with financial difficulties.”
Most permanently disabled veterans qualify for payments from Social Security and the military or Veterans Affairs. Those sums can amount to about two-thirds of their active-duty pay. But until those checks show up, most disabled veterans draw a reduced Army paycheck.

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